Two-level processing of approval notifications in a collaborative electronic information system

ABSTRACT

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented data processing method comprises receiving, in a collaborative electronic information management system that is hosted using a collaboration computer, a plurality of application events that have been generated by a plurality of external applications; determining that one or more of the application events relate to a particular content item from among a plurality of content items that are managed in the system; generating and causing displaying, as a part of a graphical user interface of the system for a user account associated with a user computer, a set of notifications comprising one or more first notifications generated from the system and one or more second notifications that are based upon the application events, in association with data identifying the particular content item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approval control that is displayed in association with the data identifying the particular content item, and in response, updating the tasks-notifications sub panel to indicate an approval of the particular content item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approval control that is displayed in association with the particular notification, and in response, updating the tasks-notifications sub panel to indicate an approval of the particular notification.

BENEFIT CLAIM

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/767,654, filed Feb. 21, 2013, the entirecontents of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposesas if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to computer-implementedtechniques for supporting notifications, approval indications, and eventcommunication in electronic information management systems that promotecollaborative communication. The disclosure relates more specifically totechniques for listening to external events, displaying notifications ina graphical user interface, and receiving and storing approvalindications.

BACKGROUND

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could bepursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previouslyconceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it shouldnot be assumed that any of the approaches described in this sectionqualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in thissection.

Computer-based collaborative information sharing systems enable teams ofcomputer users, who may be widely geographically dispersed, to create,update, and manage electronic documents using a federated system. Anexample system is CONFLUENCE, commercially available from Atlassian ofSydney, Australia. However, users of collaborative information sharingsystems also typically use other computer program applications for otherpurposes; for example, these users may separately interact with ane-mail client program or web-based mail inbox, documents containingpersonal tasks or work tasks, calendars and other systems. These otherapplications may generate alerts, notifications or other events thatrequire the attention of the user. Consequently, computer userstypically are required to repeatedly change their attention frominteracting with the collaborative information sharing system to one ormore of the other applications. The result is an excessive amount ofmentally disruptive context switching, and inefficiency incurred inswitching between applications.

A related issue in this context is that the collaborative informationsharing systems typically have been managed separately without awarenessof the events that are generated in external systems such as e-mail,task managers or calendars and without a facility to receive orinterpret these events.

Users of a collaborative information sharing system also may wish toexpress approval for a particular comment, document, task or other itemthat has been created by another user of the system. In the past,expressing approval typically has required the user to enter a newcomment or reply comment in the system, which may require more time thanthe user wishes to spend to express approval.

SUMMARY

The appended claims may serve as a summary of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example networked computer system with which anembodiment may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates aspects of an asynchronous data processing methodthat may be used to process external application events, notificationspanels, and approvals or other interactions with the notification panel;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example graphical user interface that may begenerated for collaborative interaction with a set of electronicdocuments, messages and notifications;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example notification-task panel that may bedisplayed using an embodiment, and including a set of tasks;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface that may begenerated for collaborative interaction with a set of electronicdocuments, messages and notifications, with superimposition of anexample notification-task panel that may be displayed using anembodiment, and including a set of notifications;

FIG. 6 illustrates a computer system with which an embodiment may beimplemented;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the notification-task panel of FIG. 5,with superimposition of a notification sub panel that includes acomment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however,that the present invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresent invention.

1. Overview

In an embodiment, a data processing method comprises receiving, in acollaborative electronic information management system that is hostedusing a collaboration computer, a plurality of application events thathave been generated by a plurality of external applications; determiningthat one or more of the application events relate to a particularcontent item from among a plurality of content items that are managed inthe system; generating and causing displaying, as a part of a graphicaluser interface of the system for a user account associated with a usercomputer, a set of notifications comprising one or more firstnotifications generated from the system and one or more secondnotifications that are based upon the application events, in associationwith data identifying the particular content item.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented data processing methodcomprises receiving, in a collaborative electronic informationmanagement system that is hosted using a collaboration computer, aplurality of application events that have been generated by a pluralityof external applications; determining that one or more of theapplication events relate to a particular content item from among aplurality of content items that are managed in the system; generatingand causing displaying, as a part of a graphical user interface of thesystem for a user account associated with a user computer, a set ofnotifications comprising one or more first notifications generated fromthe system and one or more second notifications that are based upon theapplication events, in association with data identifying the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the data identifying theparticular content item, and in response, updating thetasks-notifications sub panel to indicate an approval of the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the particularnotification, and in response, updating the tasks-notifications subpanel to indicate an approval of the particular notification.

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented data processing methodcomprises, in a collaborative electronic information management systemthat is hosted using a collaboration computer, establishing operation ofa plurality of event listener units, wherein each of the event listenerunits is configured to communicate with or listen for a plurality ofapplication events that have been generated by a particularcorresponding external application; determining that one or more of theapplication events relate to a particular content item from among aplurality of content items that are managed in the system; generatingand causing displaying, as a part of a graphical user interface of thesystem for a user account associated with a user computer, a set ofnotifications comprising one or more first notifications generated fromthe system and one or more second notifications that are based upon theapplication events, in association with data identifying the particularcontent item.

2. Example Embodiments

2.1 Structural and Functional Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an example networked computer system with which anembodiment may be implemented; FIG. 2 illustrates aspects of anasynchronous data processing method that may be used to process externalapplication events, notifications panels, and approvals or otherinteractions with the notification panel; FIG. 3 illustrates an examplegraphical user interface that may be generated for collaborativeinteraction with a set of electronic documents, messages andnotifications; FIG. 4 illustrates an example notification-task panelthat may be displayed using an embodiment, and including a set of tasks;FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface that may begenerated for collaborative interaction with a set of electronicdocuments, messages and notifications, with superimposition of anexample notification-task panel that may be displayed using anembodiment, and including a set of notifications; FIG. 7 illustrates anexample of the notification-task panel of FIG. 5, with superimpositionof a notification sub panel that includes a comment. For convenience andto illustrate a clear example, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are describedconcurrently, and the example process of FIG. 2 is described in thespecific context of FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 7, but otherembodiments may implement the approach of FIG. 2 in contexts other thanthose of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3-7. In one aspect, the system and processesdescribed in these figures provides a federated notification and taskgenerating system in which external applications may provide events thatare transformed into notifications within an application that providesthe end user's current context, so that the user can view thenotifications, create tasks, and activate actions in the externalapplications without leaving that context.

Referring first to FIG. 1, in an embodiment, a user computer 10 iscoupled directly or indirectly through one or more networks 20 to acollaboration computer 30 that is coupled to or can access a datastorage device 50. User computer 10 may comprise any computing devicesuch as a personal computer, workstation, tablet computer or smartphone.For example, a mobile computing device such as a smartphone 17 may serveas the user computer 10. User computer 10 hosts or executes a browser12, which may comprise a commercially available web browser program suchas FIREFOX, SAFARI, CHROME, etc. Browser 12 is capable of generating adocument view 14 on a display device 16 of the user computer 10; in thiscontext, the document view represents the fully rendered visualappearance of an electronic document. An example of an electronicdocument is an HTML document or web page.

Network 20 broadly represents one or more local or wide area networksand/or internetworks, using any of wired, wireless, terrestrial,microwave or satellite links.

Collaboration computer 30 may comprise any computing device havingresources sufficient to execute the functions that are described hereinand may comprise, in various embodiments, a server computer,workstation, one or more virtual machine instances in a data center orcloud computing infrastructure, or a combination. In an embodiment, thecollaboration computer 30 hosts an integrated notification unit 34 thatis coupled to an event listener unit 32, approval receiving unit 36, andcontent processing unit 38. In this embodiment, browser 12 connects tocollaboration computer 30 and interacts with one or more of thefunctional units of collaboration computer 30 as a service. In practice,a large number of different user computers 10 may concurrently connectto the collaboration computer 30, or multiple instances of thefunctional units of the collaboration computer, to accomplishdistributed collaborative interaction with electronic documents. Forexample, widely geographically dispersed teams having different usercomputers 10 in diverse locations can be coupled concurrently throughnetworks to the collaboration computer 30 to concurrently view, add,delete, manage, and change content that the collaboration computer makesavailable. These teams and applications they use may be the source ofevents that are transformed into and presented as federatednotifications via the collaboration computer 30 and browser 12, asfurther described.

Integrated notification unit 34 comprises, in various embodiments, oneor more computer programs, other software elements, or other digitallogic or functional units that are configured to perform the eventprocessing, notification display, and approval functions that arefurther described herein. Approval receiving unit 36 comprises, in oneembodiment, one or more computer programs, other software elements, orother digital logic or functional units that are configured to performthe functions described herein relating to receiving input, displaying,and processing indications that an item is approved or liked.

Event listener unit 32 comprises, in various embodiments, one or morecomputer programs, other software elements, or other digital logic orfunctional units that are configured to perform the event receiving andposting functions that are described further herein. For purposes ofillustrating a clear example, FIG. 1 shows a single event listener 32,but in practical embodiments, there may be any number of event listenerscorresponding to different external applications 60, 62. For example,the collaboration computer 30 may implement an event listener 32specifically for the JIRA application that is configured to specificallylisten for events in that application and then provide the events tocontent processing unit 38 for preparation as federated in-appnotifications within a collaborative document management system asfurther described.

The content processing unit 38 comprises, in various embodiments, one ormore computer programs, other software elements, or other digital logicor functional units that are configured to perform the contentprocessing functions that are described herein including managingcreating content, sharing content, receiving and distributing commentson content and mentions of a user or computer in connection withcontent, receiving and processing approval indications, and otherfunctions.

In an embodiment, data storage device 50 stores one or morerepresentations of an electronic document 40, tasks 42, andnotifications 44, in addition to metadata relating to the foregoing.Document 40 represents, in FIG. 1, a representation of the web page thatis managed in memory of the collaboration computer 30 and corresponds todocument view 14.

In one embodiment, using the content processing unit 38 a user interfacedisplay may be generated to represent a web page having one or moresections, columns and other layout features and containing humanperceivable content such as text and graphics that a plurality of usersor user computers may create, update, and manage. Sections arehorizontal areas and columns are vertical areas. To add structure to theinformation on a page, it is often useful to split the information intocolumns. It is often desirable to have more than one column across thewidth of the page. A user may also want to use a common structure on anumber of pages, so that readers know where to find the informationwithin each page. In addition to columns, sections are useful toorganize content and a section may contain one or more columns.Embodiments provide a set of predefined page layouts. Each layoutprovides one or more columns. Some layouts also provide a horizontalblock at the top and bottom of the page. The layout that is selecteddetermines the position of the sections and columns on the page, as wellas the relative width of the columns. The page's content is confinedwithin the borders of the layout. In one embodiment, the user cannot addcontent above or below the sections and columns provided by the layout.

Data storage device 50 represents one or more elements of data storagethat may be co-located with collaboration computer 30, or in a storagearea network, or in remote networked data storage, in variousembodiments. Both collaboration computer 30 and data storage device 50may comprise instances of processing and data storage resources that arein a remote data center or cloud-based computing infrastructure.

In an embodiment, one or more external applications 60, 62 may becoupled to network 20 and accessible to collaboration computer 30. Theexternal applications 60, 62 represent any software, service, system orcomputer that may act as a source of events, notifications or other datato the collaboration computer 30 and for which it is desirable toprovide integration into content that the collaboration computer managesand the creation of federated notifications within the user'sthen-current application context to serve as the basis of generatingtasks or activating actions in the external applications. In thiscontext, the term “external” merely means separate from collaborationcomputer 30. Examples of external applications 60, 62 includecollaborative software development applications such as JIRA, e-mail,social media applications such as FACEBOOK or TWITTER, databases,CRUCIBLE, BAMBOO, etc. Each of the applications 60, 62 comprises asource of one or more application events 70 and each may have anassociated database.

As indicated by a phantom line from external application 62 to eventlistener unit 32, the one or more application events 70 are communicatedfrom the external application 62 to the event listener unit 32 forconsumption at integrated notification unit 34 and integration intocontent by content processing unit 38. Examples of application events 70include content sharing, comments on content, mentions relating tocontent, approval indications such as likes, etc. In this context, a“mention” relating to content is a reference, in a first content item,to a second content item; for example, a first user might mention aparticular wiki page in a different wiki page or other item of content.In some embodiments, application events 70 also may be received fromother functional units, hosted within collaboration computer 30 or infederated systems or software. Examples of such associated eventsinclude content sharing, mentions, approvals, comments, etc. Theseevents may come from the CONFLUENCE system, for example, hosted oncollaboration computer 30.

Data storage device 50 is configured as a repository for a document 40,tasks 42, notifications 44 in any number or quantity. In a practicalimplementation, there may be millions of documents, tasks andnotifications managed by collaboration computer 30. A benefit of thesystem of FIG. 1 is that sharing, comment, mention, and approval events70 originating from external applications 60, 62 may be integrated intothe document 40, tasks 42, notifications 44 that the collaborationcomputer 30 manages and may be presented within the same user interfaceor context as the content. Consequently, user computer 10 is notrequired to interact directly with the external applications 60, 62 orotherwise leave the user's then-current application context to viewinformation relating to the application events 70; instead, the user mayinteract with a single user interface of the collaboration computer 30to view data originated from a large number of other applications and togenerate tasks and activate actions of the external applications.Moreover, there is no requirement for the external applications 60, 62to have compatibility with the collaboration computer 30 or the contentin data storage device 50.

FIG. 2 illustrates aspects of an asynchronous data processing methodthat may be used to process external application events, notificationspanels, and approvals or other interactions with the notification panel.

At step 202, the process initiates operation of a collaborative documentmanagement system and event listener service. For example, step 202 maycomprise collaboration computer 30 executing content processing unit 38,event listener unit 32, integrated notification unit 34, and approvalreceiving unit 36. In cooperation, these functional units provide acollaborative document management system with which a large number ofusers or user computers 10 can contribute content, such as document 40,tasks 42, notifications 44, in a shared view of a wiki, sharedelectronic document, or other shared content item. Further, thefunctional units provide a system capable of listening to applicationevents 70 that originate from the external applications 60, 62 forintegration into the content. In this context, the external applications60, 62 and collaboration computer 30 form a federated system in whichservices offered by content processing unit 38 and the externalapplications 60, 62 appear in a single user interface, or otherwiseappear to represent a fully integrated service, even though the externalapplications may originate from different vendors, enterprises or othersources as compared to the functional units of the collaborationcomputer 30.

At step 204, an event is received from an external application at theevent listener service. For example, application event 70 is receivedfrom external applications 60, 62 at event listener unit 32. Theapplication event 70 might comprise an approval indication from a socialnetworking system, a comment from a database system, a sharingindication, a mention, etc., including events received from contentprocessing unit 38. For example, the application event 70 may comprise atask that another user assigned to the current user from a task listthat was displayed in a page of a collaborative document or wiki thatthe collaboration computer 30 is managing. Still further, other actionsof the collaboration computer 30 may create a tasks for the current usercomputer 10; for example, the collaboration computer may be running aplugin that creates and assigns tasks.

The event listener service 32 is configured for compatibility with theapplication programming interface (API), messaging protocols, otheroutward-facing interfaces of the external applications 60, 62. Forexample, event listener service 32 may be configured to query a graph ofa social media system to identify and obtain data for an approvalindication, comment, share or mention of content. Event listener service32 may be configured to periodically poll a data repository that one ofthe external applications 60, 62 manages to obtain newly created orupdated records that represent content items, shares, comments, mentionsor approvals. Thus, event listener service 32 may have a modularstructure or a plug-in architecture in which elements or interfaces ofthe event listener service are compatible with particular ones of theapplications 60, 62 and are used to obtain data from those applicationsas necessary to listen to all events or notifications that the externalapplications generate.

As part of step 204 or step 206, the process includes determining thatone or more of the application events relate to a particular contentitem from among a plurality of content items that are managed in thesystem. In other words, an incoming application event from one of theexternal applications 60, 62 is automatically correlated to orassociated with a particular content item that is managed in the system.Correlation may occur based upon a globally unique content itemidentifier that is specified in the application event, or heuristicallybased upon content item names, titles or other substantive contentvalues that match content items that are managed in the system.

At step 206, data is stored for the event in an integrated notificationsrepository. For example, step 206 may involve forming a data record indata storage device 50 that represents one or more of a document 40,tasks 42, notifications 44 with content corresponding to the applicationevent 70 that was received in step 204. As a result, a large number ofdiverse kinds of events and notifications from different externalapplications 60, 62 become federated in the system and accessible tocollaboration computer 30.

At step 230, controls returns to a calling process or to continueasynchronous processing of events, requests, and other input. Thus,steps 204, 206 may represent one of a plurality of asynchronous tasksthat the collaboration computer 30 processes continuously and in anyorder. Steps 204, 206 may be repeated any number of times for differentevents, at any time with respect to the other asynchronous tasks thatthe system processes.

At step 208, a request is received to display a notifications panel. Therequest of step 208 may comprise another kind of asynchronous taskprocessed in the system. In one embodiment, the request of step 208comprises a selection, using a pointing device such as a mouse, atouchpad, or a touch gesture on a touch-sensitive display device, thatselects a user interface control configured to display a notificationspanel. FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 provide an example. FIG. 3illustrates an example graphical user interface that may be generatedfor collaborative interaction with a set of electronic documents,messages and notifications. In an embodiment, a graphical user interface302 comprises a first column 304 containing graphical content, a secondcolumn 306 containing comments and notifications, and a third column 308comprising contributor data, blog posts and other information. GUI 302further comprises a workbox control 310 which, when selected, causesgenerating and displaying a notifications-task panel 402 (FIG. 4) thatis configured to display either a set of user-specific notifications ora set of user-specific tasks. For purposes of showing a clear example,the workbox control 310 is illustrated as part of a toolbar in a topregion of the GUI 302 of FIG. 3, but in other embodiments, the workboxcontrol 310 may be presented in other locations. In this context, theterm “workbox” is suggestive or arbitrary and other labels may be used.

The source of data in the notifications may be the content processingunit 38—in other words, a part of the collaboration computer 30 that isintegral to the system—or one or more of the external applications 60,62.

At step 210, the process generates a display of a notifications panelwith one or more of integrated notifications and tasks. At step 212, theprocess updates the panel with current data from the repository. FIG. 4,FIG. 5, FIG. 7 provide an example, and are described further in separatesections herein. In one embodiment, the notifications panel includes alist of notifications that were recently received from any of theexternal applications 60, 62 or from the functional units withincollaboration computer 30, in similar formats and methods ofpresentation, so that all the notifications that are received fromdiverse systems appear federated and consistent. Step 212 representsretrieving recently updated records from data storage device 50 fornewly received notifications and events; in other words, an aspect ofresponding to the request to generate a notifications-tasks panel ischecking the data storage device and displaying data for recentlyupdated records.

Steps 214 to 224 represent asynchronous events or input that may bereceived at the event listener service and other functional units of thesystem and processed in the manner indicated. Referring first to step214, in an embodiment, the process receives input indicating approval ofa notifications item. In this context, an indication of approval may bedata indication a prior selection of a Like link in an external socialmedia system or in a user interface presented by the collaborationcomputer 30. At step 216, in response, the process updates the displayand repository to indicate an approval of the notifications item. Step216 may include updating the data storage device 50 with a record,column update, or other marking indicating that a particular contentitem or notification was approved or Liked.

At step 218, the process receives input indicating creation of a task.Input indicating creation of a task may comprise selecting an Add Taskcontrol in the notifications panel, for example. At step 220, inresponse, the process updates the display and repository to indicateapproval of the notifications item.

At step 222, input is received indicating manipulation of a task. Inputindicating manipulation of a task may include any one or more of: inputindicating marking a task as complete; input indicating moving a task toa different position in a task list thereby changing a priority of thetask; input requesting viewing task details; input indicating a requestto view only tasks that were previously marked as complete. At step 224,in response, the process updates the display and repository to reflectthe manipulation of the task.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example notification-task panel that may bedisplayed using an embodiment, and including a set of tasks. FIG. 4provides one example implementation of a federated set of tasks that canbe generated based upon multiple events received from different externalapplications. In an embodiment, a notifications-task panel 402 comprisesa personal tasks list 410 that comprises a set of zero or more tasks 414associated with a particular user or user computer 410. In anembodiment, each of the tasks 414 comprises a single line of text andthus is a light-weight task, but in the embodiment of FIG. 4 or otherembodiments there may be other detailed content associated with a task.In various embodiments, the tasks 414 may comprise personal notes thatusers may prioritize, and/or may be used as pointers to other items foraction; for example, a task may link to a calendar that indicates a duedate for a task.

The notifications-task panel 402 may comprise a notifications-taskcontrol 404 having a tasks button and a notifications button 406. In anembodiment, the notifications-tasks control 404 is configured to controltwo forms of display of the notifications-task panel; in a first displayform, the panel comprises a list of tasks with associated controls, andin a second display form, the panel comprises a list of notificationswith associated controls. FIG. 4 shows the first display form.

In an embodiment, the personal tasks list 410 further comprises a textentry field 412 in which user input may be provided for a new task. Anadd task control 408 is configured to cause adding a new task asindicated in the field 412 to the data storage device 50 using a newdatabase record. Thus, entering data in field 412 and selecting control408 causes updating the data storage device 50 with a new task. Further,in an embodiment each of the tasks 414 is a graphically movable itemresponsive to cursor control input, such as selection and dragging, tomove the task into a different order within the list of all the tasks.In one embodiment, selecting and holding a button of a pointing devicecauses selecting the task 414 for movement and then the task may bedragged to a new position and released, causing updating the datastorage device 50 with data indicating a new task order.

In an embodiment, each of the tasks 414 comprises a selection checkbox418 which, when selected, causes marking the associated task ascomplete. Marking may comprise updating a column in a database recordcorresponding to the task. The column value may be used in filteroperations, such as a request to view completed tasks, as a field forevaluating a query that requests displaying only completed tasks.

In an embodiment, each of the tasks 414 comprises a details control 416which, when selected, causes displaying comments, a date-time value, orother metadata associated with a particular task.

The example of FIG. 4 includes tasks that a user of the user computer 10may have created for that user, or that other users created. In anembodiment, tasks 414 are updated in the data storage device 50continuously based upon other actions occurring in the system andtherefore each display of the notifications-tasks panel 402 comprises athen currently updated set of tasks. For example, the application event70 may comprise a task that another user assigned to the current userfrom a task list that was displayed in a page of a collaborativedocument or wiki that the collaboration computer 30 is managing. Stillfurther, other actions of the collaboration computer 30 may create atasks for the current user computer 10; for example, the collaborationcomputer may be running a plugin that creates and assigns tasks. When auser updates a task that originated in a task list on a page that thecollaboration computer 30 is managing, the update is reflected in thetasks 414 of panel 402 also.

In an embodiment, content processing unit 38 (FIG. 1) may expose an APIfor task operations that supports CRUD actions using REST operationsthat map to Java methods. For example, a TaskService API may map RESToperations such as GET, POST and DELETE, respectively to a find method,createOrUpdate method and delete method in Java. Each task may beidentified in data storage device 50 using a globally unique identifier.Embodiments may also include a Notifications REST API providing amechanism for receiving remotely generated application events in thesystem, and a Notification actions registration API, providing amechanism for informing the notification processing system what actionsto display both at the level of a remote object and remote notification.For example, an external app or remote application may registerparticular allowed actions with the notifications system using theNotifications actions registration API, and in this respect the remoteapps themselves can define what actions can be performed in thoseapplications. After registration, the notification system can displayGUI widgets for accessing the registered actions with respect to aparticular external application, as further described herein for FIG. 7.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface that may begenerated for collaborative interaction with a set of electronicdocuments, messages and notifications, with superimposition of anexample notification-task panel that may be displayed using anembodiment, and including a set of notifications.

In an embodiment, when the notifications-task control 404 is manipulatedto select the notifications button 406, a list of zero or morenotifications items 502, 504 is displayed in a notifications view 501 ofthe panel 402. In various embodiments, there may be any number of items502, 504. Each of the items 502, 504 may comprise brief summaries ofalerts, events or other messages indicating that content has beenshared, comments about content, tasks, approval indications or likes,mentions of the user or the user computer, or other notifications. In anembodiment, in data storage device 50, a notification item 502, 504 maybe represented as: an item title; an action icon with an aggregationindicator or statement; an action that was taken (e.g., “Sven Peterscommented on this”), a description or content. In general, anotification may be viewed as an instance of an action on a contentitem, where a content item is a page, issue, blog post, etc. An actionmay be a share, comment, mention or approval or Like.

Each of the items 502, 504 may have been received from any of theexternal applications 60, 62, or one of the functional units ofcollaboration computer 30. However, in notifications view 501 of panel402, each item 502, 504 is depicted using a similar arrangement andformat regardless of the source of the underlying data. Therefore, eachof the items 502, 504 has a federated, integrated appearance even thoughsource data for the items may have been received via events ornotifications from completely different applications than theapplication or functional unit of collaboration computer 30 thatgenerates the notifications view 501.

In an embodiment, items 502, 504 that have not been previously read bythe user computer 10 are marked or displayed in a distinctive format,such as using boldface or highlighting. To support this function, arecord for a notification item 502, 504 in the data storage device 50may include a column value indicating whether the item has been read.Notification items 502, 504 may have different associated types that maybe indicated using distinctive icons, fonts, font treatments, or otherdisplay indications. The icons, fonts, font treatments, and otherdisplay indications also may indicate or suggest a name or type of oneof the external applications 60, 62 that is the source of the item 502,504.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the notification-task panel of FIG. 5,with superimposition of a notification sub panel that includes acomment. FIG. 7 depicts an example in which a particular details control703 of a particular notification item 702 is selected. The notificationitem 702 of panel 402 indicates partial notification content, such as“Wendy Bell commented on EOFY 2012: Choose your own adventure” where“EOFY 2012: Choose your own adventure” may be a content item, such as awiki page, that the collaboration computer 30 manages. In response toreceiving data indicating selection of the details control 703, theintegrated notification unit 34 causes generating and displaying theparticular notification—that is, the comment of Wendy Bell on thecontent item in this example—and a notifications detail panel 704comprising a task control 706, content controls 708, comment panel 710,comment controls 712, reply field 714, and reply button 716.

In an embodiment, the task control 706 is configured to cause creatingand storing a task to the data storage device 50 based upon thenotification that is shown in detail panel 704. Thus, in the arrangementof FIG. 7 and with the logic implemented in configuration computer 30,upon receiving and viewing a notification from an external system, theuser is not required to switch contexts to a task-related application—oreven a separate task-related view—in order to create a task thatcorresponds to the notification. Instead, by selecting the task control706, the user can immediately create a task for the user that is basedupon the notification. Consequently, in an embodiment, creation of taskrecords in a collaborative document management system is fullyintegrated into a system for receiving and viewing notifications fromexternal applications.

In an embodiment, content controls 708 comprise: Open, Stop Watching,Like. Each of the content controls 708 may comprise a hyperlink which,when selected, causes the collaboration computer 30 to perform acorresponding action. For example, selecting Open causes displaying allcomments, approvals or other data associated with a particularnotification. Selecting Stop Watching may cause marking records in adatabase, on data storage device 50 or associated with externalapplication 60, 62, that configure the system to cease providingnotifications to the current user computer 10 relating to the other userwho posted a particular comment or caused a particular notification,and/or relating to the associated content item, such as “EOFY 2012:Choose your own adventure” in this example. Thus, Watching may refer tousers or content items. Selecting Like may cause creating a record inthe data storage device indicating that a user associated with thecurrent user computer 10 approved of the content item.

In an embodiment, comment panel 710 comprises detailed content for aparticular comment relating to the content item shown in panel 704—inthis case a comment of a particular user that includes a hyperlink. Inan embodiment, comment controls 712 are configured as hyperlinks which,when selected, cause performing functions relating to the particularcomment that is shown in comment panel 710. In an embodiment, thecomment controls 712 are: Open; Reply; Like. In an embodiment, selectingthe Open link causes displaying all content of the comment shown incomment panel 710, in the event that not all the content fits in thethen current display. The comment controls 712 may comprise actions thathave been registered by the external applications 60, 62 using theNotification action registration API described above.

In an embodiment, selecting the Reply link causes creating anddisplaying the reply field 714 and reply button 716; entering text inthe reply field and selecting the reply button causes creating andstoring a record in a database, in the data storage device 50 orassociated with external application 60, 62, for a reply comment.Entering reply comments provides a way to take immediate action on thecomment shown in comment panel 710 or other items that are associatedwith a content item referenced in a notification item 702. In contrast,selecting the task control 706 enables taking deferred action by markinga notification as a task for later processing.

In an embodiment, selecting the Like link causes creating and storing arecord in a database, in the data storage device 50 or associated withexternal application 60, 62, indicating approval or liking of theparticular comment that is shown in the comment panel 710. Thus, in theconfiguration of FIG. 7, a user computer may indicate an approval orLike at two levels. At a first level, approval may be indicated for acontent item, such as “EOFY 2012: Choose your own adventure” in FIG. 7using controls 708. At a second level, approval may be indicated for aparticular comment shown in comment panel 710 using controls 712. In anembodiment, the order of all notification items, such as notificationitems 502, 504, within the panel 501 (FIG. 5) may be based uponpopularity as indicated by a number of Likes or other approvalindications that have been stored in the data storage device 50 for thenotification items 502, 504. In an embodiment, GUI 302 (FIG. 3) mayinclude a Popular Items control which, when selected, displaysnotifications, comments, or other items ordered based upon popularity asindicated by a number of Likes or other approval indications that havebeen stored in the data storage device 50 for those items. In thiscontext, entering a reply comment to a comment using field 714 andbutton 716 (FIG. 7) may contribute to popularity of a comment.

FIG. 7 shows a comment in the comment panel 710 merely to illustrate aclear example. In other embodiments, content in a similar panel mayinclude information relating to a sharing, mention, or other interactionwith the content item that is the subject of the notifications in panel402.

2.2 Example Benefits of Certain Embodiments

It will be apparent from the description herein that the variousembodiments provide a number of distinct benefits over prior approaches.As one example, using the techniques herein, a large number of diversekinds of events and notifications from different external applications60, 62 can become federated in a single collaborative informationmanagement system and accessible to collaboration computer 30.Consequently, user computer 10 is not required to interact directly withthe external applications 60, 62 to view information relating to theapplication events 70; instead, the user may interact with a single userinterface of the collaboration computer 30 to view data originated froma large number of other applications. Thus, embodiments may provide anin-app notifications system in which notifications generated from alarge number of other applications may appear within a singlecollaborative document management application without requiringcontext-switching to use the other applications.

The same techniques may be implemented in the context of applicationsother than collaborative document management applications, and the useof a collaborative document management application is not required inall embodiments. For example, the notifications, approval and eventlistening techniques described herein could be embedded within a sourcecode version management application, alone or in addition to acollaborative document management application, so that a user could viewand access federated notifications and centralized tasks in either ofthe application. Further, the techniques herein may be implemented as abrowser extension so that a user can access federated notifications andcentralized tasks regardless of which website the user is visiting. Thetechniques herein also could be implemented in a command-line programthat is configured to provide access to tasks while the user is workingin the command line. The techniques herein also could be implemented ina desktop computer application configured to provide access to federatedtasks and notifications even when the user is not using the browser or aclient program that accesses a document management application, sourcecode version management application, or other system that generatesnotifications, events and tasks.

Moreover, there is no requirement for the external applications 60, 62to have compatibility with the collaboration computer 30 or the contentin data storage device 50.

Moreover, creation of task records in a collaborative documentmanagement system is fully integrated into a system for receiving andviewing notifications from external applications. The user is notrequired to switch contexts to a task-related application—or even aseparate task-related view—in order to create a task that corresponds tothe notification. Instead, by selecting the task control 706, the usercan immediately create a task for the user that is based upon thenotification. This is useful and practical, for example, when the userwishes to view several notifications rapidly, but create tasks fornotifications that are recognized as needing future action, review orattention. For example, in the context of collaborative softwaredevelopment, a notification may come from a software build application(e.g., external applications 60, 62) and a suggested action may be tore-run the build; the user may see the notification and then immediatelycreate a task relating to an external application without leaving thenotification or the overall context of the collaborative documentmanagement system.

3. Implementation Example Hardware Overview

According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein areimplemented by one or more special-purpose computing devices. Thespecial-purpose computing devices may be hard-wired to perform thetechniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed toperform the techniques, or may include one or more general purposehardware processors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant toprogram instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or acombination. Such special-purpose computing devices may also combinecustom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming toaccomplish the techniques. The special-purpose computing devices may bedesktop computer systems, portable computer systems, handheld devices,networking devices or any other device that incorporates hard-wiredand/or program logic to implement the techniques.

For example, FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a computersystem 600 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented.Computer system 600 includes a bus 602 or other communication mechanismfor communicating information, and a hardware processor 604 coupled withbus 602 for processing information. Hardware processor 604 may be, forexample, a general purpose microprocessor.

Computer system 600 also includes a main memory 606, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 602for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor604. Main memory 606 also may be used for storing temporary variables orother intermediate information during execution of instructions to beexecuted by processor 604. Such instructions, when stored innon-transitory storage media accessible to processor 604, rendercomputer system 600 into a special-purpose machine that is customized toperform the operations specified in the instructions.

Computer system 600 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 608 orother static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 604. A storage device 610,such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus602 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to a display 612, such asa cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user.An input device 614, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupledto bus 602 for communicating information and command selections toprocessor 604. Another type of user input device is cursor control 616,such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to processor 604 and forcontrolling cursor movement on display 612. This input device typicallyhas two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and asecond axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in aplane.

Computer system 600 may implement the techniques described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/orprogram logic which in combination with the computer system causes orprograms computer system 600 to be a special-purpose machine. Accordingto one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computersystem 600 in response to processor 604 executing one or more sequencesof one or more instructions contained in main memory 606. Suchinstructions may be read into main memory 606 from another storagemedium, such as storage device 610. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 606 causes processor 604 toperform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions.

The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitorymedia that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine tooperation in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprisenon-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes,for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 610.Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 606. Commonforms of storage media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexibledisk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, or any other magneticdata storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage medium,any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip or cartridge.

Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction withtransmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between storage media. For example, transmission mediaincludes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including thewires that comprise bus 602. Transmission media can also take the formof acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-waveand infra-red data communications.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions to processor 604 for execution. For example,the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solidstate drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 600 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 602. Bus 602 carries the data tomain memory 606, from which processor 604 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 606 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 610 either before or afterexecution by processor 604.

Computer system 600 also includes a communication interface 618 coupledto bus 602. Communication interface 618 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 620 that is connected to alocal network 622. For example, communication interface 618 may be anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellitemodem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to acorresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communicationinterface 618 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a datacommunication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also beimplemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 618sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals thatcarry digital data streams representing various types of information.

Network link 620 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 620 mayprovide a connection through local network 622 to a host computer 624 orto data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 626.ISP 626 in turn provides data communication services through the worldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the“Internet” 628. Local network 622 and Internet 628 both use electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Thesignals through the various networks and the signals on network link 620and through communication interface 618, which carry the digital data toand from computer system 600, are example forms of transmission media.

Computer system 600 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 620 and communicationinterface 618. In the Internet example, a server 630 might transmit arequested code for an application program through Internet 628, ISP 626,local network 622 and communication interface 618.

The received code may be executed by processor 604 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 610, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with reference to numerous specific details that may vary fromimplementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense. The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the invention,and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the invention,is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue fromthis application, in the specific form in which such claims issue,including any subsequent correction.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented data processing methodcomprising: receiving, in a collaborative electronic informationmanagement system that is hosted using a collaboration computer, aplurality of application events that have been generated by a pluralityof external applications; determining that one or more of theapplication events relate to a particular content item from among aplurality of content items that are managed in the system; generatingand causing displaying, as a part of a graphical user interface of thesystem for a user account associated with a user computer, a set ofnotifications comprising one or more first notifications generated fromthe system and one or more second notifications that are based upon theapplication events, in association with data identifying the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the data identifying theparticular content item, and in response, updating thetasks-notifications sub panel to indicate an approval of the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the particularnotification, and in response, updating the tasks-notifications subpanel to indicate an approval of the particular notification.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the application events comprise any of asharing item specifying that the particular content item was shared witha user account; a comment item specifying a comment on the particularcontent item; a mention item indicating that the particular content itemwas mentioned in a second content item; an approval item indicating thatthe particular content item was liked or approved.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of the external applications is a socialmedia system that is hosted at a computer other than the collaborationcomputer that hosts the collaborative electronic information managementsystem.
 4. The method of claim 1 comprising generating and displaying atasks-notifications panel in the graphical user interface in which thefirst notifications and second notifications are displayed together inthe same format.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein thetasks-notifications panel is displayed in a first display format thatincludes the first notifications and second notifications, andcomprising receiving first input indicating selection of a particularnotification from among the first notifications and the secondnotifications; in response to the first input, generating and displayinga notification detail sub panel comprising details of the particularnotification; receiving second input indicating selection of a taskcontrol that is associated with the particular notification; in responseto the second input, automatically adding a task based upon theparticular notification to a set of tasks that are associated with theuser account.
 6. The method of claim 5 comprising receiving third inputindicating selection of a task-notification control in the graphicaluser interface, and in response to the third input, generating anddisplaying the tasks-notifications panel in a second display format thatincludes the set of tasks.
 7. The method of claim 6 comprising receivingfourth input indicating selection and movement of a particular task inthe set of tasks to a different ordinal position in the set of tasks. 8.A computer system comprising: one or more processors; one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media storing sequences ofinstructions which when executed by the one or more processors causeperforming: receiving, in a collaborative electronic informationmanagement system that is hosted using a collaboration computer, aplurality of application events that have been generated by a pluralityof external applications; determining that one or more of theapplication events relate to a particular content item from among aplurality of content items that are managed in the system; generatingand causing displaying, as a part of a graphical user interface of thesystem for a user account associated with a user computer, a set ofnotifications comprising one or more first notifications generated fromthe system and one or more second notifications that are based upon theapplication events, in association with data identifying the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the data identifying theparticular content item, and in response, updating thetasks-notifications sub panel to indicate an approval of the particularcontent item; receiving third input indicating selection of an approvalcontrol that is displayed in association with the particularnotification, and in response, updating the tasks-notifications subpanel to indicate an approval of the particular notification.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8 wherein the application events comprise any of asharing item specifying that the particular content item was shared witha user account; a comment item specifying a comment on the particularcontent item; a mention item indicating that the particular content itemwas mentioned in a second content item; an approval item indicating thatthe particular content item was liked or approved.
 10. The method ofclaim 8 wherein at least one of the external applications is a socialmedia system that is hosted at a computer other than the collaborationcomputer that hosts the collaborative electronic information managementsystem.
 11. The system of claim 8 comprising instructions which whenexecuted cause generating and displaying a tasks-notifications panel inthe graphical user interface in which the first notifications and secondnotifications are displayed together in the same format.
 16. The systemof claim 11 wherein the tasks-notifications panel is displayed in afirst display format that includes the first notifications and secondnotifications, and comprising instructions which when executed causereceiving first input indicating selection of a particular notificationfrom among the first notifications and the second notifications; inresponse to the first input, generating and displaying a notificationdetail sub panel comprising details of the particular notification;receiving second input indicating selection of a task control that isassociated with the particular notification; in response to the secondinput, automatically adding a task based upon the particularnotification to a set of tasks that are associated with the useraccount.
 17. The method of claim 16 comprising instructions which whenexecuted cause receiving third input indicating selection of atask-notification control in the graphical user interface, and inresponse to the third input, generating and displaying thetasks-notifications panel in a second display format that includes theset of tasks.
 18. The system of claim 17 comprising instructions whichwhen executed cause receiving fourth input indicating selection andmovement of a particular task in the set of tasks to a different ordinalposition in the set of tasks.